The present invention relates to an arc welding generator with input voltage adapting regulator stage.
A typical diagram of an arc welder, according to the known art, is shown in FIG. 1 and is constituted by a rectifier stage 1 followed by a bank of leveling capacitors 2, followed by an inverter block 3 with high-frequency electronic switches which drives a transformer 4.
The secondary winding of the transformer 4 is followed by a rectifier stage 5 and has an inductor 6 for leveling the output current.
The arc forms between the inductor 6 and the common line of the rectifier stage.
The voltage applied to the inverter block 3 is the voltage being present across the bank of leveling capacitors 2, which is supplied by the input rectifier stage 1.
This means that the maximum voltage value being present across the bank of capacitors 2 coincides with the peak value of the rectified voltage being present in output to the rectifier stage 1.
In these conditions, the electronic switches of the inverter stage 3 must be sized so as to be able to withstand such voltage peak value.
Obviously, in order to ensure the operation of the generator for supply voltages that are higher than the nominal supply voltage it is necessary to oversize, in terms of voltage, the electronic switches of the inverter, with a consequent overall efficiency loss of the generator.
This is necessary because it must be taken into account that the welder may have to operate with power supplies in which the voltage can vary due to reasons linked to the fact that the line is not controlled, that it is a building yard line, that at certain times of the day there can be variations due to the disconnection of loads or because power is drawn from a stand-alone generator driven by a motor.
The same problems can occur on very long lines, where resonance with the inductors and the capacitors of the machine may occur.
Clearly, the use of electronic switches capable of withstanding high voltages entails a decrease in efficiency, because these electronic devices suffer losses which increase as their maximum operating voltage increases.
If one also wishes to ensure the operation of the generator for supply voltages lower than the nominal voltage without performance losses, i.e., with an equal delivered power level, it is necessary to oversize the electronic switches of the inverter in terms of current.
This occurs, for example, when considerable line drops occur in distribution systems which are insufficient with respect to the connected loads.
This oversizing in terms of current entails an increase in the nominal power of the switches and once again a loss of overall efficiency of the inverter stage that is sized thereon.
The above has led to the development of structures for arc welding generators which adopt intermediate regulator stages which allow to obtain an input voltage for the inverter stage 3, present across the capacitor bank 2, which is stable while the voltage of the power supply of said generator varies.
An example of the above is shown in FIG. 2, which illustrates an intermediate stage between the rectifier block 1 and the capacitor bank 2; said intermediate stage is known as xe2x80x9cboostxe2x80x9d stage and is obtained by means of an inductor 71, an electronic switch 72, and a diode 73.
This stage is able to stabilize a constant voltage across the capacitors 2 by means of an appropriate control device.
However, said stage can operate if the supply voltages that are present in input to the block 1 have a peak value which is lower than the value of the stabilized voltage across the capacitor 2, but operation for higher voltage values is not allowed.
This entails that, in order to ensure operation with high supply voltages, the voltage that must be stabilized across the block 2 is high, and accordingly it is still necessary to oversize the electronic switches of the inverter stage, in terms of voltage, even in the presence of a regulator stage, with the already noted consequences in terms of loss of efficiency.
Another known solution is shown in FIG. 3, wherein the fundamental element of the system is a voltage adapting stage 101 which is interposed between the rectifier block 102 and the capacitor bank 103.
Downstream of the capacitors 103, which have a leveling function, there is a conventional inverter block 104, the adapter transformer 105, the rectifier stage 106 and the inductor 107 at the output of which the arc 108 forms.
The voltage adapting stage 101 is constituted by an electronic switch 109, by an inductor 110 and by a diode 111, which are connected as shown in FIG. 3.
A control device, not shown, allows to keep constant the voltage V0 measured across the block of capacitors 103 as the voltage Vin measured at the output of the rectifier stage 102 varies, both in the case of Vin greater than V0 and in the case of Vin less than V0.
Substantially, the control device acts on the opening and closure of the switch 109, maintaining the indicated conditions.
In this circuit diagram, however, the voltage V0 is negative with respect to the voltage Vin and the cut-off voltage of the switch 109 and of the diode 111 is Vin+V0, which is high for high input voltages Vin.
This entails the use of components having high cut-off voltages, which can entail losses in conduction and a non-optimum efficiency of the adapting stage.
Moreover, the value Vin+V0 for wide ranges of the input voltage can reach values higher than the cut-off capacity of the devices normally used in these machines, with the consequent need to use series-connected components; this can entail complications linked to the difficulty of ensuring a symmetrical distribution of the voltages across said components.
The aim of the present invention is to provide a generator for welding which solves or in any case greatly reduces the problems that have been mentioned.
A consequent primary object is to provide a welding generator which is capable of ensuring the operation of the generator without loss of performance as the supply voltage varies, be it a three-phase or single-phase voltage, over a wide range of values.
Another object is to provide a welding generator which is capable of operating both with values that are lower than the nominal voltage and with values that are higher than the nominal voltage while maintaining a stable voltage value across the capacitor bank.
Another object is to provide a welding generator which is structured so as to allow optimum sizing of the electronic switches of the inverter stage with the goal of improving the efficiency of this stage and therefore of the entire generator.
Another object is to provide a welding generator in which it is possible to optimize the sizing of the semiconductor devices that are contained in it and in particular in the adapting stage, so as to achieve a high overall efficiency of the generator.
This aim and these and other objects which will become better apparent hereinafter are achieved by a welding generator with an input voltage adapting regulator stage of the type that comprises an input rectifier stage, a bank of leveling capacitors, an inverter block, a transformer, a rectifier stage and an inductor downstream of which the arc forms, characterized in that said regulator stage has, in series at the output of said input rectifier stage, a first controlled electronic switch to the output of which a first diode is connected, said first diode being further connected to the common line, an inductor, a second controlled electronic switch and a second diode being present in series downstream of said first controlled electronic switch, the output of said inductor being connected between said inductor and the common line, said second diode being connected to the bank of leveling capacitors, said arrangement causing the voltage Vin measured at the output of the input rectifier stage to have the same orientation as the voltage V0 measured across the bank of leveling capacitors.